Being Italian American, my dad loves meatballs. However, he often makes them with chicken for cholesterol reasons, and we all agree that they’re… just chicken meatballs. fineBut every now and then, he makes real meatballs with beef and fresh sauce, which are actually a (cholesterol-busting) treat.
He, like many others, He knows The correct way to make meatballs is to leave the meatballs and sauce together on the stove for hours So that their flavors blend. The only problem is that this makes the perfect meatballs a bit dry. In fact, through the testing required to perfect his popular meatballs, Slow Cooker Meatballs RecipeKenji found that this method of letting meatballs cook on the stove that so many people swear by isn’t actually a great idea. In his development, he found that cooking the meatballs in sauce for more than 45 minutes turns them from soft and moist to tough and dry.
So, on the one hand, you (and me) (and my dad) want tender meatballs, but on the other hand, you want the flavor of the meatballs in the sauce. There’s no way to have all of that! Right? Wrong!!!
Kenji’s solution to adding flavor wherever possible without compromising the quality of the meatballs is to reserve a bit of the meatball mixture and roast it in a little olive oil to create a flavor base for the tomato sauce; then add the meatballs themselves right at the end of cooking. This extracts the same flavors you get from cooking the meatballs in tomato sauce, but avoids the risk of overcooking the meat. It’s a trick Daniel also uses in his recipes. Spaghetti and meatballs recipe To ensure that the meatball flavor is in every bite – this is truly my favorite type of dinner. Or at least it is better than chicken meatballs, which I write with love and respect for my wonderful father!
How to Use This Tip to Make Delicious Meatballs and Delicious sauce
After preparing the meatball mixture, sauté a quarter of the mixture in olive oil until browned, then add the onions, garlic, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt, and of course the tomatoes. The sauce can be cooked on the stovetop or in a slow cooker for up to 10 hours, then form the remaining meatballs from the meat mixture and refrigerate until later in the process.
Keep in mind that the longer you cook the sauce, the less volume it will have, so you’ll get less sauce if you cook it for too long, but it will be a sauce with great flavor. “Ultimately, cook it until it’s well-balanced and delicious. You, “The person who eats it is the one who eats it!” says Leah Collins, Serious Eats’ culinary editor. “The longer it cooks, the thicker and more intense the flavor will become, and the tart, acidic tomatoes will start to take on a sweeter flavor the longer they cook.”
As for the meatballs, you can cook them by searing them on the grill or in a skillet and then dropping them into the sauce until they’re cooked through, or drop them into the sauce raw and let them cook through (though you’ll miss out on the flavors from the searing). This should take about 10 minutes if you’ve seared the meatballs or about 30 minutes if you haven’t; regardless, you shouldn’t leave the meatballs in the sauce for more than about 30 minutes total (provided they’re cooked through) if you want to retain their melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Serve it with pasta and parmesan, and you’ll have a plate of tender meatballs and a rich, thick sauce full of strong meaty flavor. I’d like to add that my dad would be thrilled with this sauce!
